creating an aids-free generation. .. and exploding ahmad jang black gay man. many in the field that because of the overall progress made in the fight against aids, they're just going to be left out in

left behind. but in this city, government and community leadership has been reinvigorated. around both testing and testing strategies they are making a difference. since 2007, there has been a threefold increase in the number of people being tested every year. a tenfold increase in the number of condoms distributed every year, 3003 nato's distributed every year and 90% of people who test hiv-positive in washington d.c. seah.there within three days. hardback president obama's administration was the first to develop a comprehensive strategy for the domestic epidemic.

the affordable care act, which thank god the supreme court upheld will provide public. [cheers and applause] defending that he and secretary sebelius submitted this week to close the list is very important and i want to just emphasize something else that in the context of the united states can be huge. you all know that when i do proxy work around the world in our foundation does, we use generic drugs and dave made a huge difference. and pat for money cannot be used to buy those drugs, first because eric goolsby at all the people agreed that they should anzac and because i made an agreement with president bush when he was an obvious that i would submit all of the mehdi

said we sent anywhere in the world to the fda and he said if the fda approved them is the effect of an appropriate that on a local contrary could use their money to buy that meta-sin. [applause] and he kept his word. and that was the beginning of this and i'm very, very grateful for that. that means for these drugs are not available with got to do something for people without insurance who can't afford the drugs. [cheers and applause] now, our foundation has partnered with major pharmaceutical, aeneas to make access to affordable hiv medication available faster, in a simpler way on a longer-term

basis of people who don't qualify for a bat, but can't afford the drug. here's the idea. we will provide a one-stop shop for uninsured patients to access all of the patient assistance programs available. the group are most simplify the paperwork and cut through red tape. and i want to think the pharmaceuticals that merck who authorities said that to support harbor pat with deeply discounted medicines and i hope although their manufactures of hiv medications full text follow suit. [cheers and applause] one more word about the united states. besides d.c., the next biggest problem we have with aids is in the south, where i'm sad to say since it's my home region, there's still too much stigma.

stigma and against men, against people who are drug users. where it's not treated enough as a public health problem. and that plus the poverty, plus a disproportionately high percentage of people in our country in the south who live in rural areas and therefore have some of the same exact access problems that people in africa and southeast asia and other places have. [cheers and applause] has created a big problem for us. i just wanted to say cheap things. it's embarrassing to me to think that the stigma against people with hiv exists against people anywhere in america. it's still a problem in other places in the world, but look at the numbers that came out just this week. yes, it's your that 56% of the

people who need medicine now stay alive are getting at. but look at the numbers in the area where there's more stigma. central and eastern europe, weigh less than that. in the middle east and north africa, even less than that. not even 25% in the latter comment nearly a third in the former. so we, all of last can't be blind to the fact that no matter how much we come together and see each other and see the evidence that we still have to fight stigma wherever we find it and support our friends and neighbors who are doing that. and, we also have to deal with the fact that not everybody treats the stroke problems the way washington d.c. and a lot about donations to as a public health issue.

you do not know men had an amazing article at just a couple days ago, documenting the death rate from aids that has come as direct consequence of their refusal to see drug related infections as a public-health problem is as opposed to a criminal justice problem. so we have to deal with it. [cheers and applause] i think for me anyway, thinking about where we were in 2002 when nelson mandela and i went to the aids conference in barcelona and we were literally rattling a tin cup for money, by the way, i just was with him on his 94th birthday and i told him i was coming here. and he said, i am retired, but tell them i wish them while.

[cheers and applause] i think you should be excited about this. i know you're worried about the money and other stuff, but you should be really excited about this moment because you're committed to work through the financial crisis to go beyond incrementalist to go on embrace profoundly ambitious goals for 2015. i've been asked to actually work thanks to the aids life group in austria with a couple african countries to figure out how you actually would take blood of a child transmission to fear because it's more than just getting them medicine out there. but it's exciting and we will do well as long as we refuse to live what we don't have slow us

down. we have to use what we do have tickets or programs off the ground and will answer the questions as we go along. we've got stronger leadership from every set there than i can remember. the research community is still laboring away towards the trends of the vaccine and a cure. more and more people from the private sector bringing their business document to the financial questions. civil society still pushing us all to do the right thing. communities in america from anacostia and oakland to mumbai and são paulo to st. petersburg in a long way to anger ali. all of them taking responsibility for their children and their future. they have not gotten enough credit to the developing world

and the middle income countries are spending even more money than the donor countries and the individuals are doing to fight this epidemic. they are worth are supporting us they are coming up for this moment. [applause] was also got a lot of policymakers who seem committed to keep working on us if necessary until everybody in this room is as old and gray as ird. [laughter] if that is what it takes. this is serious. i've been doing us a long time. all of this is really happening because of you and the people who sat in these chairs at every previous aids conference, going back to the beginning. millions of p. in an aids free generation still depend on your daily tenacity and encourage.

no, we don't have all the money and answers we need, but we have you. we have your disdain for the progress that has been made and you didn't make us believe we can achieve an aids free generation. and all over the world, in places where we work, we have millions of people perish in their dreams and their children's streams instead of giving up. it's worth a lot. you have to deliver for them. thank you. good luck and god bless you all. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applaus

[cheers and applause] >> international aids conference's keynote speaker former president bill clinton. the first time it's been hosted in the u.s. in 22 years. after president obama lifted the travel ban ip with hiv/aids signed into law in 1987. house minority leader nancy pelosi spoke at the conference and talked about our aids has affected people living in san francisco and provisions for hiv/aids in the new health law. she talked for about 10 minutes. [applause] >> thank you all very much. thank you very much. good afternoon. what a beautiful site you want to see. wow. thank you, diane -- dr. hafler for your generous introductions and tremendous leadership as a cochair of this year's international aids conference. watching the film and the slides

and by all accounts, this conference is a tremendous success. so we thank dr. diane hafler and ally calaveras for their great leadership and cochairing this conference. let's give them their fullest appreciation. thank you, dr. calaveras. san franciscans take special pride in doc or have lawyers leadership at the hiv/aids at universal san francisco because that is where for a haul of this began. this is where we started to turn the tide together. it was 31 years ago when we first heard in our community but doctors say the university of california san francisco were

seeing cases unlike anything they had seen before. symptoms that hearken back to the middle ages, many of you could tell the same story. if they can to take a terrible toll. soon they began to as many as two funerals a day. quickly, quick way we knew that this was an emergency and we had to pull out all the stops. we expressed our grief and took comfort in the aids quilt. we had renewable indicates the moral growth. 25 years ago, when i was elected to congress, my first speech on the floor of the house, i said i'd come to congress to fight against hiv and names.

[applause] after my comment, some colleague said to me, why would she want society aids to be your introduction to the congress of the united states. why did you say you came here to fight a quiet eye aside, i said it because that's what i came here to do. [applause] but recognize that was the sign of the time in washington d.c. meanwhile in san francisco, we were at ground zero as a side of the aids assault on our house, on our economy and community, on the lives of our dear friends, with death, denial and discrimination against those with the disease. aids was not only challenge to a

scientific article professionals, it was a challenge to the conference of all abuzz and remains so to this day. we knew that we had to work a nice, not just agonize and organize, not agonized we did. [applause] over time we learned that the aids resource for virus escaped to see a mutating. and so, we had to be resourceful. we adapted to the challenge, all of us. we were innovative in our thinking, pursuing new science, mobilizing in new ways, taking a fresh approach to prevention, to care and research for a cure.

all of that community based and evidence-based. we knew early on that we needed an international mobilization against aids. we need a public private and nonprofit partnership. we had to make a national decision to act. here in the united states congress, our decision to act changed the lives of many people within our borders and around the world. with the leadership of congressman henry waxman of california and senator ted kennedy. [cheers and applause] the past that community-based ryan white care act early on. [cheers and applause] would buy with our minority aids

initiative in funding for pediatric aids case in the list goes on and on. and most recently, with the passage of the affordable care act, we are delivering substantial risk to hiv and aids. we worked in a bipartisan way, first with president clinton to authorize an global fund. then the president push, to establish pet fire. thank you, president bush. and the president obama to strengthen these initiatives. we think president obama for totally lifting the travel ban.

[cheers and applause] enabling this international aids conference to return to the united states for the first time since 1990. as at that conference in san francisco and i can tell you that we have, long way, not only because we don't have a band and therefore scientists all can come and join in the exchange of ideas at the intellectual challenges of ideas, et cetera, but because in this conference so many people with hiv and aids from around the world can join us. you are our strength. we welcome you especially. [applause] so i'd say that two decades after being criticized for mentioning the word aids on the floor of congress, alec in the

four years they served as speaker of the house to work with congresswoman, barbara lee, advocates on the outside, like bonneau, to listen to this, double the funding for the global health, from 4 billion to $8 billion per year. [applause] to make far-reaching progress and turned the tide, action was needed, required from parliaments worldwide. on behalf of members of congress, i want to welcome the many parliamentarians who are with us at this conference. thank you for joining us. for our country is to be to act,

our legislative bodies must make a decision to move forward and many house. even in these difficult fiscal times as in the opening address, cutting back on her hiv/aids investment is a false economy that cost us more in the future in lives and resources. hiv is still adapt game and so must we to turn the tide together. george bernard shaw once said the sign of a truly intelligent person who said he, i would add, or she is moved by statistics. clearly, everyone in this room will set standards. most of us though were also moved by individual stories.

one patient, one person at a time that let today's big statistics statistics that are so staggering, but all of you have many personal stories to tell. my introduction to one of the personal stories that i have as i last though many different in california and across the country, but i always remember susie. susie was the flower girl in my wedding. susie died of aids, but not before becoming a champion, fighting against the disease, schools and colleges and the rest. bypassing the a's quilt was in her memory. coming together here, again many have your own stories to tell. these stories have brought us to this conference.

[applause] >> speaking to this final session, again i say by all accounts, this conference is a tremendous success. we leave here with increased optimism, whether about advancements in science or prevention, mother to child transmission, yet this optimism must not make us complacent. it cannot, ms and sad height in our resolve. we have an obligation to the innovators and courageous in our thinking. where there is scientific opportunity, we have a moral obligation to funding. [applause] where there are people in need

of drugs and care, community is in need of prevention, we have a moral obligation to provide it. [cheers and applause] and where there is discrimination, we have a moral obligation to continue to fight it. [cheers and applause] >> on the brink of the generation, we must carry on with determination, with hope and encourage. purges one of the defining qualities that we always must bring to this. in doing so, we will succeed in turning the tide together. think i'll let you come to each and every one of you for your leadership, for your activism, for your commitment to ending

hiv/aids once and for all. once and for all. [applause] congratulations to all of you for making an 18 international aids conference such a tremendous success. we all look forward to working together to bring an end to a into turning the tide together. thank you all very much. [applause] [cheers and applause] is anybody from california here? [cheers and applause] welcome to all of you. >> which aims to lower 25% by

2015. his remarks run just under 20 minutes. >> our next speaker is my pleasure to introduce dr. howard koh, the assistant secretary of health of the united states department of human and health service has. a former commissioner of public health of the commonwealth of the state of massachusetts has also served as a professor of medicine and associate dean at the harvard school of public health. a graduate of your college and medical school is. he's the author of over 200 papers and a recipient of numerous awards. it was not until 2010 that the united states had its first national aids strategy introduced by president obama. the strategic plan has shaped the public health response for

our country over the last two years. so now, i welcome dr. koh to address building on success, a national strategy to stabilize. [applause] >> dear friends and colleagues, i am so honored to join me this morning on behalf of the united states government to present the status of our commitments for an aids free generation. in particular, i am so pleased to review the development and implementation of the first-ever comprehensive u.s. national hiv/aids strategy, which addresses many of the domestic

challenges already reviewed at this conference. this strategy also incorporates lessons learned from our many domestic and global partners. it was more than 30 years ago when the first hiv cases were identified in the united states. during this critical time, i was beginning my tenure as the chief medical resident at boston city hospital. i will never forget the patience we lost and the way they suffered. since then, more than 640,000 americans have lost their lives to a friend today 1.1 million people are living with hiv in the united states. one in five are unaware of his or her infection.

other u.s. incidents remained relatively stable in recent years with approximately 50,000 new infections annually, this figure is unacceptably high. the burden of hiv is not shared equally by population norwegian. populations most affect did include manhoods sex with men of all races, in particular african american and latino men. women of color and women, people who use drugs the reasons most affect did include urban areas in the northeast and the south. none of this is acceptable. salmon in our our country have

contributed to building a system of protection only one in four people living with hiv do you preserve health and reserve the risk of hiv transmission to uninfected partners. national strategies are critical to effective leadership on hiv. outlining framework for responding to hiv/aids in ways that reflect each countries unique epidemiology, disease burden and trends. and they demonstrate the importance of country ownership and an aide to maximize efficiency and the fact that massive hiv/aids programs.

president obama made it a top priority to develop a comprehensive national hiv/aids strategy. the health care providers, researchers, health experts are others. policies also have sub par for the existing hiv strategies from various countries in the global north and south. that fire has long prioritized supporting countries as they develop and implement national strategies, and maximizing the and affect the myths of our

program and a shared embassies of hughart prefers. the following year, 2010, when president obama unveiled the national hiv/aids strategy. he noted and i quote, the action he takes now both build on the legacy of global leadership, national commitment and sustained effort and all parts of the country and all walks of life to add the hiv epidemic in the united states and around the world. [applause] this process of community dialogue continues today. the white house recently across

the nation, or ideas for implementation of the local level were discussed with key stakeholders. and today, the national strategy has three and decorated our efforts and reenergized our communities under a unifying set of goals. and in a short period of time, we have demonstrated progress on the national strategies for three key goals. in particular, each of the goals by strong science and solid evidence of what works best. we have the benefit of the world's leading scientists and researchers at the national institutes of health. they and other researchers across the u.s. and the world have contributed to many scientific breakthroughs that provide us with the knowledge and tools to and fees. the national strategies first

goal is to reduce new hiv infections because after all, this is a preventable disease. by the year 2015, we seek to lower the number of new infections by 25%. we plan to do this by reducing the hiv transmission rate and increasing the percentage of people living with hiv who know zero saturdays. to reach these targets as well as support them alert global lessers, to reduce hiv, nih continues to invest in cutting-edge prevention research related to vaccine and microbicides. and we are so pleased to see greater emphasis on the use of treatment as prevention. also, last week's approval of turbine that by the u.s. food and drug administration marks a milestone for preexposure

prophylaxis in as another tool our efforts to reduce incidents. as part of the national strategy, all department of health and human service agencies are charged with real adding federal dollars to concentrate on those geographic areas and populations. too bad and, disease and control prevention launched high-impact strategies in the most heavily affected populations and is promoting a recommendation that every adolescent for hiv at least once in his or her lifetime and that those at increased risk i tested at least once per year. for example, centers for disease control prevention has released a new social marketing can pain called testing makes us stronger. that was designed for and in

consultation with african-american, gay and men enacted for hiv infection. meanwhile, the department of health resources services administration national network of 8100 publicly funded community health centers has scaled that hiv testing for low-income people, leading to a 13% increase in persons tested last year alone. [applause] and communities are implementing more creative strategies. you're in the nation's capital, the district of columbia's department of health makes hiv testing available at the department of motor vehicles with customers waiting in line for a drivers license or other services can get it free hiv

tests. [applause] at 235 people are taken advantage of this resource every day. we need to continue to build on this effort and others to reach people in nontraditional saturdays through the second goal of the national strategy is to increase access to care and improve outcomes for people living with hiv since fewer than 50% of retaining inconsistent care. currently, golf services administration ryan white aids program, federal government program that provides services for low-income people and our publicly funded health centers are working together to expand nationwide access for people living with hiv. in addition, the new health care

law signed by president obama two years ago is crucial for hiv/aids and implemented a national hiv/aids strategy. [applause] thanks to the affordable care act, we are putting into place commonsense rules that prevent insurance companies for blocking people with hiv/aids side of the market, by tapping their care or refusing to sell new policies because of their preexisting condition. [applause] specifically, the preexisting conditions that will apply to all americans on january 1, 2014 and is already in effect for children. the affordable care act will also soon expand access to preventive services, including he can hiv screening available

for women at no cost. and in 2014 will extend coverage to millions more americans that will result in a dramatic expansion of coverage to people living with hiv. recently the united states secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius announced to important actions relevant to the national strategies second call. first the secretary announced nearly $80 million in new grant awards that will expand care to an additional 14,000 low-income people living with hiv/aids and based on estimates provided by state administrators, will eliminate any waiting list for aids drug treatments. [applause]

also, secretary sebelius announced that the department is working in partnership with the mac a sign to pilot a program that will use mobile phone texting to provide important to have reminders about these management to people living with hiv. [applause] the third goal of the national strategy is to address hiv related health disparities in our nation. complex social and economic fractures, including poverty, a lack of access to care them and opportunities for prevention and treatment. two battery just many of these social determinants of health, we've expanded our efforts to work across programs administered by our colleagues in other federal agencies such as the department of housing and urban development, labor, justice and veterans affairs.

they've also engage leading national organizations to support populations hardest hit by hiv. for example, the centers for disease control and prevention's act against aids, leadership initiative represent a partnership of leading national african american and latino organizations. it is designed to increase prevention efforts to reach communication and mobilization. and the united states, women and girls account for 23% of all new hiv diagnoses. among women, the epidemic disproportionately affects women of color, particularly black women and tragically, gender-based violence often goes hand-in-hand with the disease. women and girls are all too frequently that demised by intimate partner violence and sexual assault. this not only increases risk for

acquiring hiv, it also blocks women and girls from seeking prevention option and treatments. this is unacceptable. [applause] so in an effort to address gender disparities, the white house recently established an interagency working group on intersection of hiv/aids, violence against women and girls in gender related health disparities. this group is working to share best practices, facilitate research and foster opportunities. finally, we know that stigma drives discrimination and disparities. as a result, too many americans avoid learning the hiv status, to closing status or accessing medical care. to overcome the stigma, our

efforts include a new center for disease control and prevention campaign called, let's stop hiv together, which features people living with hiv, standing with their family and friends and colleen on all americans to join the fight against the disease. this national communications effort would not only address stigma associated with the infection, but also complacency about the epidemic. we must prevent the next generation from suffering the burdens we have witnessed in the past. in conclusion, we are making important progress in the first two years at the national hiv/aids strategy, but much more lies ahead. we can succeed by making our international public health community even stronger. over the years, the united

states has been part of efforts to build that community along with so many domestic and global partners. and in particular, tap far has coordinated the power of us working together to plan, coordinate and collaborate to save lives. so as we go forward, let us reflect on the past, but accelerate our efforts in the fight against hiv/aids for the future. here in the united states, we believe the national hiv/aids strategy can bring us closer to a vision of a society, where new infections are rare and everyone receives the care they need and deserve. you can follow our efforts to implement the strategy on a stock of.

my hope is that together we can seize this moment of opportunity and channel its momentum towards achieving our goal of an aids free generation. thank you very much. [applause] >> political parties holding platforms advance of summer vacation with democrats holding hearings in minnesota this week and followed a few weeks later with the final platform recommendations in detroit. in mid august, republicans start their platforms in tampa, florida. c-span's coverage continues august 10 with the reform party in philadelphia followed by the republican national convention with live gavel to gavel coverage monday, august 27 from tampa and the democratic national convention lack of charlotte, north carolina starting monday, september 3rd . >> assistant secretary of state for human rights said this week

for human rights in china continue to deteriorate. he made those remarks at a state department news briefing starting the human rights dialogue. this is about 20 minutes. >> at afternoon, everybody. thank you for joining us. as you know we have a special briefing today by assistant secretary of state mike does start to talk about or just completed annual dialogue with china on human life. so without further ado, secretary posner. >> before i began, i want to say or welcome the appointment by the european union at a new position as special representative for human rights and we welcome the first to point b., staffers clamber reedy with a long record of working

with the european union on issues of human rights and the creation of these positions strengthen their commitment and we look forward to working with him. i want to make a short statement and i'd be glad to answer questions. on monday and tuesday of this week, we hosted our annual human rights dialogue with the chinese government is pleased to lead the u.s. delegation to these meetings for the third time. our delegation included representatives from the department of justice, usaid, department of labor, u.s. trade representative, office of the vice president, national security staff and department of state. my counterpart, sean hsu is director for international organizations and the chinese foreign ministry and he let the chinese delegation which also included representatives her branch of government ministries. these meetings take place in the

broader context of u.s.-china relations. as president obama, secretary clinton has made clear many times, we welcome the rise of a strong, stable and prosperous china and we're committed to building a cooperative partnership with china. we recognize china's extraordinary record of economic development over the last three decades. during this period, hundreds of millions of chinese citizens have been lifted out of poverty and this is a remarkable achievement. at the same time, we see that political reforms in china have not kept pace with economic advances. like people everywhere, cheney c. but want to be treated with dignity. this means they seek economic opportunity and jobs. at the same time, the ceco lawful way to voice legitimate grievances and have a meaningful role in the political development of their own

society. in our human rights dialogue they focused particular attention on the growing discourse on human rights in china today. we discuss restrictions on free expression and internet freedom, religious and ethnic minorities and on internationally recognized labor rights for chinese citizens are racing with their own government. we also discuss legal reform issues in china. this dialogue is about applying universal human rights standards and indeed regular news from china makes clear the subjects of our discussion are matters of great concern to millions -- many millions of ordinary chinese citizens whose voices are increasingly being heard around the world. let me say what this dialogue is and is not. it is a chance for us to engage in human rights issues and to do so in an in-depth manner, focusing both on specific issues and specific cases. it is not a negotiation, rather

a forum where we need to engage frankly and candidly. and most importantly, it is the only form, anywhere we rate -- only one from among many where we raise issues. these issues will continue to be raised by officials and a variety of settings. secretary clinton addresses human rights as part of the u.s.-china strategic economic dialogue each year. the overall human rights situation in china continues to deteriorate. over the last two days have focused on a number of cases are lawyers, bloggers, ngo activists, religious leaders and others are asserting universal rights and calling for peaceful reform in china. a number of these individuals have been arrested and detained as part of a larger pattern of her best and extralegal detention of those who challenge official actions and policies in

china. among the cases we've raised were lawyers fight culture shone in the irvine who have been imprisoned because of the legal advocacy on behalf of clients who espouse controversial position and who are critical of official action. we urge the chinese government to release/lawyers as well as imprisoned democracy at basic meter, chun wei and chun chi, who has pursued openness and fundamental freedoms for chinese citizens. we also express concern about denial of access to legal counsel, criminal defendants such as chun coup i've, whose lawyers have not been able to meet with him. we continue to state our position that china's policies that minority areas are

counterproductive and aggravate the tensions and perceptions of human rights activists trying to give these communities a voice violates their human rights. we raised and continue to raise deep concern for the self immolation in tibet and parts of china. we believe that society will respect human rights and aspirations of their own people are more prosperous, successful and stable in china as elsewhere, we strongly believe the change occurs from within a society these discussions that are ultimately about chinese citizens aspirations and how the chinese themselves are navigating their own future. in every society, we believe it's incumbent on government to give his own people an opportunity to voice concerns and pursue aspirations. demand that time and please take questions. >> you mentioned i think chan's

nephew and you spend on on legal counsel. how did the chinese delegation respond to that. more generally, how would you characterize the response is to be individual cases you've raised and educated in the assurance they were taking action. >> in discussing a range of issues, the general approach we take to these discussion is as important to talk about the broad subject and then to use specific cases to illustrate in getting into a deeper discussion. we did that in the case of chen's nephew and the denial of access. the number of lawyers who the family have reached out, bush tried to meet with him, try to represent actively and have been denied access. we raise concerns openly and will continue to raise those

concerns. i'm not going to characterize every response we got from the chinese government, but i assure you that scenario are you concerned. >> in general, did you get any assurance? >> they are certainly mindful of concerns and that the fact these are issues we will continue to raise. these are issues that address fundamental human right protections. every individual charged criminally, especially with a felony is entitled to a lawyer of his or her choosing and that lawyer needs to have access to represent them. that's a broad concern we have if we raised in particular case and will continue to do so. >> this is maybe the third of these that you yourself have them. if you could chose from your days with this dialogue has accomplished in concrete terms. every year you, then take on our

complains are things on board, but you yourselves and the situation is deteriorating. why is this dialogue really worth the time that it takes to do a quick second night, the chinese raise any issues with the u.s. human rights record and if so, what we do and what was the response? >> we take our lead from those within china who are advocating is human rights on the improper action. but people in china this tell us, activists commit people whose family members are detained as it's critically important for us to raise these issues, raise specific cases to do so privately, do so publicly, do so on an ongoing basis and not forget about them. this is a piece of that effort.

it's not the only effort. we work on these issues 365 days a year. i'm not the only one raising these concerns. this is an opportunity to go into these cases in these issues in greater depth and to appear as ibm here today, to make clear what our concerns are. we will continue to raise these issues throughout the year and i think over time, we are responding to a very heartfelt desire by people living in china to these issues, they're issues not be forgotten. we are amplifying a cradle of attention to these issues by chinese people on the web and the blogs. these are issues that are now commanding greater attention. i'm sorry, the second? >> as always, there's back-and-forth posts about issues in china and the united

states. there were some questions and discussions raised about issues, for example, of discrimination, prison conditions in the late, which we discussed openly. the point remains, which i feel very confident and proud to make is that we have human rights issues in the united states, but we also need very strong system to respond to them. we have an open press and lawyers ready to represent unpopular defendants may do so without fear of retaliation. we have a political process that is robust to say the least. and so, we are a pain of that discussion. we also have some visits yesterday. we took them to "politico" and the arab-american antidiscrimination committee to get a better sense of power free press works and how minority communities are represented by advocacy groups and that also is

part of the dialogue that's important. >> what is the case of lee won the base, the gentleman who died in the hood on province last month, whose staff has been described by chinese authorities as a suicide with disbelief as to whether billy was a suicide. >> i don't remember. i can come back to that particular case. the race raise several dozen cases honestly am not going to go to every one of them. i mentioned a few in my opening statement, but i think in general and in addition to the cases be specifically described and discussed, we have a list of broader number of cases of people in detention whose cases they continue to follow and use information we continue to seek from the government. i can get back to you on that. >> secondly, you mention you raised issues about minority

discussion about the uighurs and what's happening in that province. >> yakima monday afternoon but had a quite think the discussion, both of the issues relating to the weaker is as well as the tibetan population and the various places where they reside. we discussed a range of concerns about both the self immolation's, which i mentioned with the tibetans, but broader issues that apply both to the weaker and tibetans community put discrimination in terms of language rights ability to crack this their religion freely, discrimination employment, a range of issues involving their cultural rights, religious freedom, et cetera. ..

>> you are saying that the condition arises is deteriorating. why say that? >> [inaudible] >> you know, i would say on the positive said, i think it is becoming a more -- it's -- the discussion is now firmly embedded and one where we are

raising these issues in a variety of ways and a variety of contexts. we are managing and as we should, to make human rights a priority along with a range of other priorities in the relationship, and i feel very confident that the more we raise these issues in different contexts, we're going to have an effect over time. it is a frustrating time in china because lawyers, bloggers, journalists are having a difficult time, and we raised those issues very directly. part of it is that there is a growing frustration, i think, among many chinese people that they don't have the ability to express their differences in a peaceful way, and our message to the chinese government is, you've made progress on the economic front. this is the moment to open up the space to allow people to defend, question government actions, and to do so without fear of retribution. >> i'm wondering if the

one-child policy, and hillary clinton was at the holocaust museum and brought the issue up. >> yes, we did. we raised, in particular, the case of may who was beaten, detained, and then forced to have an abortion at seven months, and as a matter of u.s. policy, any coercive measures including forced abortions we deplor. there's other cases raised recently. we raised our concern about it. >> what was their response? >> again, i'm not getting into every back and forth here, but this is clearly an issue we'll continue to raise with them. >> u.s. congress always have a strong voice against the chinese rights conditions. is there anyone from the

congress? if not, have you passed the message to the chinese delegation? >> we've been eager, in fact, to have a broader discussion beyond the two governments, the two executive branches of government that could include congress. it could also include non-governmental organizations. to date, we have not been able to persuade the chinese government to do. at this date, it's a discussion from the executive branch from their sides and ours, but we'll continue to encourage broader discussion to take place and inform members of congress of the discussion that we have. >> [inaudible] on the hill, take two more. >> [inaudible] >> could you speak up a little bit? >> sorry.

your state department included harvesting from practitioners in human rights report this year. was that raised in the dialogue, and what was their response? >> we did also raise in the context of religious freedom and other discrimination, raised the issue of the representatives. again, i'm not going into the back and forth, but it's part of the discussion. >> [inaudible] >> follow-up on that one? >> yes. just to wonder if you specifically talk about it because we know earlier this year, the police chief went to the u.s. consulate and so there's evidence he's deeply involved in the crimes so i'm wondering if he provided useful material to u.s. government on that fact and --

>> yeah, there's no -- we have plenty of our own information from our own embassy and our own reporting and we relied on that for the discussion. >> thank you very much. >> thanks, everybody. >> we'll take five minutes and then we'll be back out. >> you know, it's the tradition of common law judges not to reply to suppress criticism. we are clobbered by the press all the time. i can't tell you how many letters i wrote to "the washington post" just for my satisfaction and then ripped up and thrown away. >> you don't send them? >> you don't send them. that's the tradition of the common law judge. >> supreme court justice reflects on 25 years on the bench and interpreting legal documents in his latest, "reading law" sunday on c-span's

q&a. >> the u.s. is experiencing the most widespread drought since 1956. in response, the house science committee held a hearing focusing on improving drought forecasts and response. they heard from the director of noaa integrated drought information system, head of the oklahoma water resources board, and indianapolis mayor. this is just under two hours. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] >> okay. the committee on science, space, and technology comes to ore. i say good morning to you and welcome, everyone, to today's hearing on draft, forecasting, monitoring, and decision making. a review of the national integrated draft information system, unquote. this hearing is particularly timely given the current drought conditions impacting a lot of the country including much of our home state of tech. i'll take time out to tell you a story about i passed a bill some five years ago, and i was over in paris, texas making a speech about it, and a good friend put it on me saying, congress mapp, will you be able to make it rain? it was dry and had not rainedded in days and days. i thought a minute x and so i said, yeah, it will.

that's section 4 of the third page. he said, really? i said, hell no, i just gave you a silly answer to a civic question. he was a good friend of mine. three years later, i mean, we had rainfall that drowned people and all of the farm programs below it, ruined everybody. rained days and nights. i called him three o'clock one morning, and his wife said when he got to the phone, hit his toe on the chair, and he was mad when he got to the phone. he said, hello. i said, hello. you remember the question you asked about the bill? i said, go outside. i have to go through that every time to go to paris, texas now, but he's a good enough friend i could talk to him like that, but we know how important it is, and how really timely this hearing is, and we are grateful to yal

y'all for your preparation and time to help us. according to the u.s. draft monitor, 70% of the united states is currently classified as abnormally dry or worse, and over half the u.s. is experiencing moderate to extreme draught and third of the country is characterized to being in severe draught. these conditions are affecting corn and soybean crops. as of july 17th, the department of agriculture reported 88% of the nation's corn and 87% of the nation's soybeans were in drought stricken areas. in response to pervasiveness to the drought conditions, secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack, designated 1055 counties across the country as disaster areas. droughts have long been and continue to recurring events in documents over the past 110 plus years. the drought frequently occurs in

the united states, worst being the dust bowl years of the 1930s and the droughts of the 50s. these are some, of course, and they are those who would attribute this year's draught to climate change, but the research service says drought afflicted portions of north america for thousands of years and history suggests severe and extended droughts are inevitable and part of the natural climate cycle. in any event, debating the causes of drought is not in front of us today, but what can be done to prevent timelier information to inform federal, state, and local governments and individual citizens to better deal with droughts' impacts and predict better forecasts and have better reaction. that's what i think my bill did. my bill was just to let them know we were concerned about what they were going through and we were sorry for them, but there's not a heck of a lot we

could do for them at that time. the national integrated drought information system established by the drought information system agent of 2006 is one of the such efforts that's undertaken to take the question. climate program office within the office of the oceanianic research at noaa to improve the nation's capacity to proactively manage drought, risk relate relations, and provide them with information and tools to better prepare for and mitigate the affects of the drought. the programs currently operate portal, a website that features a range of services related to drought including historical data on past droughts, current data from climate observations, early warnings, decision support

services for managing draughts, and a forum for stake holders to discuss drought-related issues. this authorization expires this yearment we'll receive testimonies from witnesses represents federal, state, and local governments as well as stake holders on the program and decision draft. the reauthorization act of 2012, and i welcome our witnesses, and i look forward to their testimony, and i recognize the ranking member, mrs. johnson, for her opening statement. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman, for the hearing to discuss legislation, reauthorizing the national integrated drought information system or nidis. for weeks, every media outlet across the country shows a map that shows the continental united states is experiencing

severe drought conditions. the federal government has declared one-third of the nation's counties, roughly 100 of them, across 29 states as federal disaster areas as a result of the drought. in my home instigate of texas, over the last few years, rainfall and high temperatures conspired to reek havoc on the economy. farmers and ranchers bear the brunt of it. that hits the pocketbook of every american as food prices go up, but the damage is not limited to agriculture. for instance, in texas, conditions are ripe for the extreme wildfires that scared large portions of the state last year. tourism is suffering as lakes plummet leaving boats and

marinas stranded on dry land. communities impose water restrictions and exploring new and more expensive water resources and technologies. powerplants and grid operators are taking a serious look at emergency plans in case water supplies fall short. given the potential for economic damage, we need to recognize droughts for what they are -- an extreme weather event and design policies accordingly. unlike disasters like tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes, dougs do not leave people scrambling for cover. there's no sirens or emergency evacuation plans. the onset is slow with no defined beginning or end. the beginning of the drought's destruction is sprawling, often encompassing whole regions of a country while durations are

typically measured in years. just as we design policy programs and infrastructure to make predictions and limit the impacts of our extreme weather events, we should strengthen our capacity to do the same for droughts. one tool that is at our disposal is in six years of existence, and nidis provided seasonal and long term drought information that's aided countless communities in preparing for and mitigating impacts of draught. we cannot have a comprehensive approach to drought research and mitigation without exploring the potential linkages with the changing global climate. while i will be the first to urge caution and jump into conclusions about the present impacts of a warming planet, i know that climateologists around

the world have a better understanding of the complex relationship. leave the science to the scientists. to play politics and deny the link between climate change and extreme weather is irrational and irresponsible. policymakers at every level have a duty to protect public welfare and ignoring the realities of climate change simply leaves us less informed and ill-prepared for catastrophic events such as droughts and floods. reauthorizing nidis is an important step, and i commend the chairman for considering this bill. this is only one step. while i'm not typically one to look a gift horse in the mouth, i say the bipartisan support for nidis leaves me baffled of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who otherwise have been relentless this congress in

trying to undermind or outright kill every other climate related product, service, or research program. i'm encouraged to see republicans' recognition of the valuable services of midis and at what they provide and i hope other climate related programs receive similar treatment. again, i thank the witnesses for joining us today, and i thank you, mr. chairman, and i look forward to the testimony. i yield back. >> thank you, ms. johnson. gentlelady from texas yields back. if there's other members with opening statements, your statements will be add the to the record -- added to the record at this point. i want to introduce the panel of witnesses. i'll recognize three and then introduce representative harris to introduce witnesses from their home state. first witness is dr. roger, the director of the national

integrated drought information system and chief of the climate program, societal, and interactions. research and publications have been on extreme events and risk reduction in the western united states, latin america, and the caribbean. he served on committees of the u.s. national academy of science. third witness is mr. jd strong, executive direct effort of the oklahoma water resources board. under his leadership, the resources board updated the oklahoma comprehensive water plan, a 50-year water supply assessment, policy strategy designed # to meet oklahoma's future water needs. mr. strong also oversees and administrates the aaa rated $2.7 billion financial assistance frame. he began the career at oklahoma

water resources board working as an environmental specialist. next witness is dr. james -- [inaudible] professor and directer of earth systems, science of california at irvine. his research group uses gravity recovery and climate experiment mission, satellite, remoescepsing, and attract water ability and before joining the fact that the university of california irvine in 2001. he was an assistant, associate professor, and the department of geological sciences at the university of texas. glad to have you there. i now reck nation the representative to -- recognize the representative to

introduce his witness. >> gregly a. ballard, the 48th mayor of indianapolis 2006 and 2007, and he was re-elected to a second term november 8th, 2011. he launched an initiative to rebuild streets, thoroughfares, sidewalks, bridges, as well as to address flooding and draining issues for the city. this is on a successful pathway. he also helped lead a team, a very successfully hosted this year's super bowl. congratulations to the city of indianapolis, and based op that success, will be competing and winning, we hope, the super bowl in 2018. welcome, mayor ballard. >> well, thank you. i thank the gentleman from indiana. i recognize representative harris to recognize our final witness of the panel for this

hearing. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. it's my pleasure. in addition, the commissioner of the kent county planning foundation and fare board. she and her husband and family operate a large grain farm in the first congressional district and raise livestock. she has the hands-on experience that she will bring to the testimony. among her recognition, she and her husband inducted in the governor's agricultural hall of fame, named mid at lainic master farmers and were admitted into the soil district, and, again, it's a pleasure to have ms. langenfeld for joining us this morning. >> thank you for vealing back and good introductions from the both of you. spoken testimony is limited to five minutes after which the members of the committee have five minutes to answer

questions. we're liberal with your five minutes, but tighter with those of us here where we are not here all day, but we are # honored to have you, and we thank you very much. i now recognize some of the witnesses to present that testimony. you're recognized for five minutes to provide your testimony. you're not really limited to five minutes, but give us what you think we really need. >> thank you. i'm the program director of the national intreg grated drought information system at noaa and department of commerce. honor to be here today. i'll highlight the role in improving the nation's capacity for understanding, predicting, and responding to drought. drought is part of the american experience from the southwest long dry period in the 13 #th century to the 50s and 30s of the 20th century. from 2000-2010, the land area affected by drought in the u.s. was 25%. recently, over the past month,

more than half of the country experienced moderate or stronger drought conditions. nidis is authorized under the law 430 to provide an early warning system with indicators of severity and impact reflecting state and regional differences and directed to do is, in part, by coordinating relevant federal research and building upon existing forecasts and assessments programs. to fulfill the task, nidis supports four elements, all of which work together. firstly, coping with drought rearming, providing extra grants to academic and other researchers to assess drought and support tools. secondly, the test that accelerates the transition of scientific research to improve the operational climate forecast products. thirdly, the nidis drought pore -- portal drought.gov provides products, and the fourth network

is warning systems that recognizes the drought impacts varies region to region. it intreg grates information from the above three elements from the portal, the observations, research, and from the federal and local partners to develop drought outlooks for specific regions. a recent example of a product for wyoming, utah, and colorado, where i live, it provided as a supplement to the testimony. to date, nidis implemented an early warning system, the first of its kind in the u.s. in the upper colorado river basin, and it's developing similar systems in the flint basin and state of california. approaches and tools for the systems are intended to be transferred to other regions like the pacific northwest and the great plains. since the program was authorized in 2006, we improved effectiveness by increasing the number of states to manage,

access user needs, and the percentage of the u.s. population covered by drought early warning information systems. i'll now provide a few specific examples of nidis's products and services and their impacts. since spring of 2010, we supported weekly drought updates, the center piece of the early warning system bringing together stake holders from federal and state agencies, water conservation districts, recreation and tourism, throughout the upper basis, to raise awareness of the reservoir conditions and wildfire risks. the products in the basin now include improved drought indicators linking seasonal climate forecasts and monthly stream flow estimates. according to the climbtologists says since the early warning system was initiated, local, public, and private entities refinded the u.s. drought monitor, national level product,

into a useful product for specific needs. this was long sought after by groups like the water kin sill and others. the second example comes from a southeast city. throughout the nidis coping with research efforts. they work with alabama, we have 53,000 residents using this to reduce the impact of drought. in march 2011, based on this information, the city issued a drought update. as a result of the city's proactive response to pending drought, the water supply was not greatly affected. the city now uses the system drought information and wiewrt supply planning and demand management on an ongoing basis. many other examples of research, product development, and early warning exists. acknowledged by the partners, states, regional and federal offices, the research, data, and outlook supported by nidis like in the southern drought of

2011-2012, significantly improved planning and coordination previous -- prior to to previous events prior to nidis legislation. they are dependent on enabling observational capabilities including the usda national resources conservation service, the usgs water dispensers under the water smart efforts, reservoir levels from the u.s. army corp. of engineers, and the national weather service cooperative observer program. essential research partners like the mitigation center at the university of nebraska work with nidis to improve products and improve and inform drought planning at every level. whim drought onset is important, warning of droughts' intensification, duration, and the potential recurrence are critical. to achieve the truly national drought early warning presence

and vision requires improvements that nidis has begun to address, but further advances are needed. these include drought variability and forecast reliability from a season to a year and even to a decades including understanding the rule of eventing and ending draught. collaboration among researches, managers, and the public to enhance use and value of the existing observation networks and the transfer of successful tools and approaches to regions not yet having early acting warning systems. most critically, working with the private sector and others on standards for developing value product to drought plans. key to the future of our success is a sustained system. we, at noaa, are grateful for the continued interest. i look forward to working with you and helping the nation and communityings take full advantage of nidis to reduce impacts of drought. thank you for the opportunity to

speak with you. >> and we thank you. i now recognize mayor ballard to present his testimony. >> thank you, chairman, ranking member johnson, and to the full u.s. house of representatives committee on science, space, and technology to invite me to testify at today's hearing. i'm the mayor of indianapolis, indiana, 11st largest city in the country. my testimony is focused on how the drought impacted the city of indianapolis, residents, and our business community. the drought of 2012 indianapolis is one of historic proportions compounded by extreme temperatures. the indianapolis division of homeland security considering nidis to be important uses the tools provided by the national weather service, and repeated about vaition of the extreme heat plan prompted them to seriously evaluate potential risk of drought conditions. similarly, indianapolis water

utility, which citizens water, which operates the city's water supply, used weekly drought status updates as published on the website, a part of nidis to determine whether advanced efforts were necessary in response to progressing drought conditions. by late june, citizens had been delivering record amounts of water amidst of the record breaking heat. they estimated 30% and 40% of the water load was for lawn irrigation. citizens asked customers to stop watering the lops voluntarily july 6th leading to a 20 gallon a day reduction. i enacted mandatory water use restrictions to protect the dwindling water supply, and there was adequate water for the public safety and well being. these water use restrictions included the ban on watering lawns, washing vehicles, using water to clean outdoor services like sidewalks or driveways, filling swimming pools, installing new landscaping and

other restrictions. hydrants were only for fire suppression. in less than a week, water usage dropped an additional 58 million gallons a day. some businesses that depend on water to operate were exempted from the ban. examples like nurseries, commercial car washes, golf courses, parks and the like. we do not have complete and comprehensive information on the impacts the draught to the residents, government, or businesses in the county, but many businesses voiced concerns over the impact of water use restrictions including pool companies, lawn care, and landscaping businesses, irrigation repair companies, painting companies, powerwashing companies, car dealerships, contractors, and businesses. they were not exempted, and many are small business owners who provide jobs in indianapolis, so jobs have been affected. it's some tile before we understand the full economic

impact of the draught on indianapolis. we know that the drought in the ensuing water restrictions placed a burden on businesses that rely on water to operate and to homeowners who need water to maintain properties. these restrictions have been an unfortunate, but necessary response to a severe and serious drought expected to persist into the fall. clearly, the seener indianapolis knows about drought conditions, the sooner we can begin planning public information and preparing leaders and communities for water conservation. that said, the expected accuracy of the prediction would likely have to be quite high before it results in earlier implementation and mandatory restrictions. regarding the agreement, i support better, more timely, and more accurate drought reporting and prediction services to help all of us. thank you. >> thank you, mayor. i now recognize you for five minutes to present your testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman, members of the committee, and for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss an

issue of critical importance to oklahoma and other western states, and that is drought monitoring, forecasting, and coordination. i'm jd strong, and i serve as executive directer of the oklahoma water resources board. in addition to coordinating state drought monitoring activities, my agency carries out numerous responsibilities for the state of oklahoma, all of which are heavily impacted and influenced by drought. while i testify today as directer of the oklahoma water resources board, the state's water management agency, i know through involvement and coordination with those in the western state water council and governor's association, many states share similar thoughts and suggestionings of reauthorization of the drought system. why is drought a challenge for us? unlike other natural disasters like floods and tornadoes that strike suddenly and end within minutes or days, the effects of drought settle in slowly and

subtly over months or years. that's why it's referred to as the creepy disaster. it's difficult to know when a drought starts and more challenging to know when droughts end. additionally, and partly because of the subtle on set, society falls into the hydroillogical cycle. we ignore drought until the situation is dire, lament impacts justifiably scream for help and cling to funding, but invariably it rains, we forget there was a problem, and we go back to business as usual. we have to break the sickle. drought means different things to different regions and water users highlighting the focus of researching and reporting not so much on a national scale, but on measures and predictions relative to state, regional, local, and tribal stake holders. 80 years removed from the dust bowl era, this is our third

drought episode in six years. virtually every year in oklahoma, one quarter or more of the state is classified in at least the severe drought category. notably, my agency and the water development board and the chairman and ranking member home state of texas was created in 1957 on the heels of the worst drought in record in the great plains. oklahoma's world renowned research community, unit till lazing our climate monitoring stations scattered across the state developed advanced tools utilizing realtime information on precipitation, temperature, soil moisture, and other parameters impacting water management and water stake holders augmenting the information collected by the usgs cooperative stream gauging program, corp. of engineers

reservoir gauges, and numerous other sources of critical data. still, oklahoma, like the nation in general, remains largely vulnerable to the drought, and its annual multibillion impacts. reducing those impacts requires improved insight into this recurring disaster. that, as you know, is the goal of the still relatively new nidis program. thanks largely to the foresight of congress and leadership of chairman hall and with many input and assistance from organizations like the western governor's association, the national integrated drought information system was launched in 2006. in short, created to focus research on advancing our predictive capabilities and establishing a communication link between the scientific community and those most affected by drought. what has it accomplished? with data immigration, improved communications of outlooks, engaugement with local and tribal and regional and federal

offices, there's a coordinated effect response network. prior to this, there was no such coordination, and similarly, stake holder involvement was lacking to non-existent. oklahoma has a strong presence due to the active involvement of climate scientists at the national weather center as well as funding programs to the planning program, one of noaa's regional integrated sciences and assessment teams. this made the agency's job easier in providing continuous updates of continuing drought conditions allowing us to focus our attention and assistance on regions of the state that warrant heightened milt gages efforts. a particular importance, they provide the outlook from the noaa climate prediction center and forecasts from the noaa river forecast center. nidis is largely successful, but work remains like improved among toring tools and predictions, extended coordination between

sectors and agencies, and drought preparedness and response in the state water and hazard plans. we await the drought early warning system for our area, a key goal of the program and central to effective drought preparedness and response. specific to the drought legislation, we appreciate the chairman and sponsorship of the rethor sages and applaud the committee for giving it due consideration. i respectfully urge the committee to add language explicitly focusing on nidis components lacking full implementation like a firm requirement and deadline for development of early warning systems and drought prediction strategies. in closing, drought is a real, present danger that affects this nation to the tune of billions of dollars and countless lives every year. as my congressman frank lucas, i know is chairing an ag committee meeting at this moment, can attest from his chairmanship the

disaster assistance that federal and state governments provide is mammoth compared to the minute sums spent compared to taxpayer dollars and american lives should be well-informed. we can ill-afford to step backwards dealing with what is the most menacing and costly natural disaster, but take the next step forward, build on the work accomplished under nidis since 2006 to establish the most valuable product of this endeavor and first time and accurate early warning system to save money and lives, even incremental approvements in the accuracy of predictions regarding location, duration, and intensity of drought, particularly if on a seasonal to one year scale would be extraordinarily beneficial in establishing contingencies and informing decisions made by water managers, farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and

others. i urge the reauthorization of nidis with components not fully operational at this point in time as well as necessary funding to ensure its full implementation. thank you. >> thank you. i now recognize doctor for five minutes for his testimony. >> thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today. i'm a hydrologist and professor at the university of california irvine and formally at the university of texas. drought is an insidious and patient killer of food and fuel crops of livestock and of humans, and it has emerged as a major threat to the nation's food, health, economic, and water security. unfortunately, these all may be of greater risk in the coming decades as increasing temperatures are expected to result in more frequent and

prolonged drought. in spite of the enormous emotional toll, drought forecasting, monitoring, and planning tools such as those we are discussing today remain far too small to affect timely progress towards critical improvements. the state of the goals of nidis are essential for a national scale drought monitoring prediction and awareness strategy. i fully support the continuation and proposed increase. for example, some key successes are coordination of drought research in the united states. the early warning system is emerging as a crucial step in diminishing impacts and causes. nidis funding supported many inno slative -- innovative programs with mitigation. the most widely used and visible drought awareness tools is the u.s. drought monitor, an important partner of the nidis

program. the gaps identified in the nidis implementation plan drastically limit the confidence of the predictions and accuracy of early warning systems. of these, in my opinion, the most important are related to deficiencies in the nation's hydrological modeling assets, lack of observations of the water environment, and their integration. all of these underlie drought information systems like nidis. in fact, our nation's ability to monitor and predict the state of its water environment is well behind where it needs to be to address not only issues of drought, but also of water availability, flooding, ground water depletion, of human versus ecological water requirements, and of the impacts of global change. moreover, we are falling behind the capabilities of other

nations while significantly constraining domestic efforts to sustain water management. the following are critical steps towards advanced water management and drought prediction strategy. first, more realistic computer simulation models are needed that represent all major, natural, and human components of the water cycle. a significant acceleration in the development of advanced computer models for high droll ji and water management including an integrated national water model is essential for effectively managing drought and a range of critical water issues. second, we must fill in fundamental knowledge gaps of earth, water, and environment at the surface, and the shallow sub surface. we know very little about the topography under the water's sphs. there's water channels, flood plaps, and lakes or of soils or

hydrogeology at the national scale. third, we need your support for key satellite observations of water. since we summarized the need for ground base measurements, we need for satellites. several current and future nasa missions make fundmental contributions in understanding draught and improving its prediction. the grace mission has been quite successful in identifying areas of water stress and of ground water depletion. the figs on the screen, for example, shows areas losing significant amounts of water over the last 10 years, shown in red, due to ice melting or ground water depletion, and the areas in blue gained water. note where the ground water is rapidly depleted are in parts of the world where natural replenishment is limited and population is growing. in other words, it's not going to get better in those locations.

the surface water and ocean topography or swat missions map changes in ocean water storage and areas of high and low river flows, lake and reservoir levels. the continued support of congress for these core water missions is essential for effective and sustainable water management including advancing drought preparedness capabilities in the united states. water is on a trajectory to rival energy in importance in the united states, but the investment, models, and exploration of the sub surface pails in comparison. we have the potential to be world leaders in characterizing, monitoring, and predicting all aspects of the water environment from forecasting droughts and floods to science informed, technology based, long term sustainable water management. the vision and the technology

are in place. leadership in congress is what makes it a reality. thank you again for the opportunity to testify today. >> and we thank you. now recognize our final witness for today, ms. langenfelder. >> good afternoon. my husband is a 5 #th generation farmer, and together with three children, we farm 3,000 acres in maryland 80 miles east of here growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and barley. we have a livestock operation as well. i currently serve as president of the maryland farm bureau, and i also serve on the board of the american farm bureau federation, the nation's largest general farm organization on whose behalf i'm speaking on today. i thank you for holding the

hearing today on this very important matter. as has been stated a million times already today and on the news and media, much of the nation is currently gripped in the significant drought that will ultimately touch lives of every ag producer and consumer in this country. for this reason alone, it is important to have the best, most up-to-date information on the nation's drought conditions. farm bureau strongly supports legislation to reauthorize the national integrated drought information system, nidis, and is ready to work with you for swift approval of the legislation. i would like to give the committee an idea of the magnitude of the drought facing farmers. this year's drought is the worst in recent memory. objective measures of the drought extent and severity are striking. around 8 # 0% of the country is classifieded as abnormally dry, and more than 60% is classified as being in moderate to exceptional drought conditions, the highest percentages in the

drought monitor data back to 2000. more than 54% of the country's pasture and range land is rated as poor or very poor, by far, the highest percentage in the available data going back to 1995. corn crop conditions ratings are the worst for this point in the growing season since the devastating droughts of 1988. dry pasture conditions have begun to force many ranchers to sell cattle. given the long bilogical lags in livestock and poultry production systems, it could take months, some cases years, for the full effects to be reversed. ultimately, the reduced production of beef, pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy products are felt for consumers as higher retail prices. it is clear what a significant and integral role nidis plays in

providing important and timely information to farmers and to markets. it provides an unpal lealed -- unparalleled set of graphics on conditions in the united states. it is available with greater frequency than most other market-related information. frequently updated nidis data and maps and even realtime information on precipitation information and temperature allow more informed adjustments to expectations for important usda reports like the weekly crop progress and the monthly crop production reports. this makes it less likely that these reports will catch the market by surprise resulting in episodes of extreme price volatility. in cop collusion, farm bureau supports the national integrated drought information system act because it provides the nation's farmers, ranchers, and markets an effective drought warning

system for key indicators of drought conditions and impacts. it is vitally important that congress reauthorize the national integrated drought information system and farm bureau will so do everything we can to assist you in the effort. we look forward to working with you to authorize the important legislation. thank you, and i'm mezed to respond to -- pleased to respond to any questions. >> we thank you. >> uh-huh. >> we thank you all for your testimony and remind members of the committee, the committee rules limit questioning to five minutes, and the chair at this point opens the questions, and i recognize myself for five minutes. i'd like to ask you folks who live in the real world, and each of you have touched on rulings, and mayor, you've enforced it, and i've had a touch of that in

my hometown, and i'll ask y'all on the ground, mr. strong, mayor ballard, and ms. langenfelder, does this provide the drought information that y'all think we need, and what improvements do you suggest for it? remember, we just have five minutes. >> i can, mr. chairman, i can speak generally to it, not all the details, but our security system and eocs rely on it, water utility relies on it also. it's a big part of planning, getting ahead of it. anything that can be added to that that would allow us to look more in the future after accuracy is beneficial, but we use it at the city level which may be, i'm not sure that was the original intent, could have. agriculture agricultural in nature, but we use it, and the folks appreciate it.

>> good. anyone else want to tie in? >> i would ecowhat the mayor said. nidis improved in integ gritting the data and information in one place that we can use to make decisions going forward. the holy grail, though, will be more accurate, longer term predictions of drought into the future so we can actually make some mitigation measures, helpful at season or even a year in advance. >> i echo the same thinking it's important that the agricultural community be aware -- early warning is wonderful so we, you know, it helps when you are doing planting preparations to know that, gee, there's a drought coming. when you planted this year, we did not know that. some areas of the country did not know that, did not realize it, and so, therefore, a lot of money and expenditures was put

into the ground, and there was no crops coming back out. >> well, i thank you, and you've given us a lot of practice call information. you know what you're talking about, for sure. i just thank all of you, and in the five minute speech i gave to began, and i should have said we need to know more about when drought hits us, and then give reaction to it quicker. that's what the hearing is really all about. how good are the current drought forecasts issued by nidis, and how accurate are the forecasts for a month, three months, or a year or 30 days or 20 minutes, whatever. >> certainly on the seasonal, the 30 day to 90 day, when there are conditions like el nino

conditions in the pacific, the predictions are reliable. as early as summer 2010, we were able to say the likelihood of drought developments in the southern states was high. the seasonal forecasts are fairly reliable. moving out to the year, what ends up creating issues related to predict the and reliability has to do with the variability of the 10-year time scale. linking the seasonal forecast and the reliability of those forecasts to what's happening in the background, the atlantic oscillation, pacific, natural variety, the changes and relittle of the forecast is an area of research and application. >> very close to the end of my questions so i'll recognize ms. johnson for her five minute

questions. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. noaa recently released the 2011 state of climate report detailing global climate indicators and notable weather eventing inning details on a number of extreme weather events like deadly tornado outbreaks in the u.s. and the extreme drought in texas. also released was an article published in the bulletin of the american meteorology society examining potential linkages between climate change and extreme weather events of 2011 such as a draught. i know that many of my colleagues, on the other side like nidis, but for the past couple of years, they have done everything to block investments

in climate change research and provide climate services more first timely. i think the only way for us to know how to mitigate and respond to the events is to understand what is happening and the extent to which climate change is contributing to the severity and duration. in addition to coordinating, monitoring activities or other coordinated services and research needed to understand global warming's potential role in driving the severity and frequency in these events. i want to hear from you, mr. strong, on your comments on this. >> well, he's the scientist. i'm sure has a lot to say about that. i'll reiterate what i said

earlier. i think long term predictions ever climb invary the over 20-50 year time scales would be great, but what we're interested at this moment is can we get to a year forecast of drought that will be something we cay take to the bank? that, to us, is really as a practical matter. you have to walk before you can run is applicable here. getting shorter term, more accurate drought predictions in place would certainly help us do our jobs much easier. >> the links between climate

change and increasing extremes like flooding and drought are becoming much better established. they have been predicted by the ipcc for a number of years now, and more research is being conducted, and it's being conducted and bearing that out. i can mention our own research. using the grace mission, only operating for 10 years, but in that 10-year time period -- and that's the slide i showed behind me showing the trends -- there's a corresponding map that goes with the trend map that i showed, that's not in the testimony, but it shows how the water cycle and where it is strengthening, and by "strengthening," we mean more evaporation, and therefore more storms and draughts. we're working on quantity mying the frequency and intensity of

flooding and drought and even in a time -- even in just a 10-year time period, there's increases in at least figuring out how to quantity my them. >> thank you. how does nidis aid in water planning and management during times of drought? i know immediate information makes a difference, but as a climate prediction for future droughts to aid and also early warning, the shortness of time, but also having time to plan when you can predict longer times because you come in on that. >> i can, thank you. i appreciate the comments. my name is usually the most difficult to pronaps. ..